


Supergirl: Public Image

by d0d0bird



Series: DC: The Brave and the Bawdy [4]
Category: Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Awkward Kara Danvers, Awkward Kara Zor-El, Beating, Big Brother Clark Kent, Bullying, Embarrassed Kara Danvers, Embarrassed Kara Zor-El, Embarrassed Underwear Female, Embarrassment, Exposed Underwear, F/F, Gen, Humiliation, Humor, Kara Danvers-centric, Kara Zor-El-centric, Light Angst, Messy, POV Kara Danvers, POV Kara Zor-El, Public Humiliation, Ridicule, Sexual Shaming, Situational Humiliation, Suspension, Verbal Abuse, Verbal Humiliation, euf, upskirt, wedgie, wedgies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:56:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0d0bird/pseuds/d0d0bird
Summary: Supergirl is still new to Metropolis and she’s already starting to wonder if she’ll get out of living in her cousin’s shadow. By day she is editor-in-chief Lois Lane’s dorky personal assistant, Kara Danvers, but when trouble comes Supergirl is on the scene!Meanwhile, an unfortunate Irishwoman is met with a curse that sets her on the path to Metropolis. Her sonic abilities can hurt even Superman and Supergirl, which she gleefully takes advantage of.
Relationships: Established Clark Kent/Lois Lane - Relationship, Minor Clark Kent/Lois Lane - Relationship
Series: DC: The Brave and the Bawdy [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945948
Kudos: 4





	Supergirl: Public Image

“Getting coffee for your whole office?”

“Hm?” responded Kara.

“Unless you plan on drinking all of those yourself,” chuckled the guard, lowering his magazine to look at Kara.

Kara was walking through the lobby of the building and had just arrived at the security desk next to the elevators.

“Oh,” realized Kara, looking at the frozen coffees in the cardboard cup holder in her hand, “No, just a few friends and my boss.”

“Intern?”

“...personal assistant,” admitted Kara.

“For the editor of The Planet?” laughed the guard, returning to his magazine, “I don’t envy you.”

Kara chuckled awkwardly as she boarded the elevator. She wouldn’t envy herself either. She was lucky enough to be the only one in the elevator, allowing her to ride it all the way up without any stops on the way. When the doors opened she walked into the bustling office of The Daily Planet. Reporters walked speedily all around the large open room, all completely focused on their work and not even noticing Kara.

Kara was a young perky-faced woman in a pair of oversized glasses and wearing high waisted red slacks that matched the red ribbon bow on the collar of her white sweater. Her anxiousness read clearly on her face as she rushed about the office, leaving coffees at various cubicles as she did.

“You better hurry,” mused a skinny blonde woman with her attention on her monitor, “Boss is in one of her moods today.”

“Thanks Cat,” sighed Kara, handing the woman her frozen coffee and making her way to the editor-in-chief’s office.

Kara’s boss was facing away from her, cell phone to her ear and hand on her hip as Kara hurried through the open door of the office. The woman turned away from her disheveled desk to make eye contact with Kara and hold up a single finger to signal her to wait.

Kara stopped in her tracks. The woman’s fierce gaze was enough to freeze her with just a glance.

“Uh-huh,” said the woman into the phone, “Sounds good. See you at 2:00.”

She hung up.

“Ms. Lane!” smiled Kara, “Here’s your- Whoa!”

Time seemed to stop. For Kara, this was more than hyperbole. So long as she was under Earth’s yellow sun, her Kryptonian physiology improved just about every one of her natural abilities. This included her reaction time and perception. So when she stepped on her own shoelace and lunged forward, she could see everything as if time had severely slowed down. She saw Lois slowly stepping back and cringing. She saw the last two frozen coffees tumbling out of the cup holder as the liquid inside flung outward. She saw the floor slowly becoming closer as she continued her fall forward. With her powers, she could right herself and catch the drinks before anything went wrong. Unfortunately, her powers were a secret. So she had to commit to the gaff and allow herself to fall forward directly on top of the two coffees as they spilled all over the carpeted floor and splattered all over the front of her sweater as she crushed the plastic cups under her body weight.

Kara quickly grabbed her glasses and returned them to her face before meekly looking up at Lois. The pantsuit clad editor-in-chief tapped her foot impatiently for a moment before rolling her eyes.

“I am so sorry!” exclaimed Kara, grabbing the remains of the cups and returning them to the cup holder, “I’ll go get some paper towels and-”

“In a moment,” sighed Lois, “First I want to talk to you about the Roadrunner articles.”

“Yes,” nodded Kara, getting to her knees and ignoring her dripping wet sweater, “I’m sorry that was all I could find. There’s only so many articles the Planet has written about that cartoon.”

“I wanted every article on the  _ Central City  _ Roadrunners,” said Lois emphatically, “You know, the hockey team?”

“Oh,” realized Kara sheepishly, “I… thought you meant the lovable Looney Toon.”

“I didn’t.”

“I’ll get right on that,” said Kara, finally up on her feet, “After I clean this up I’ll find the right articles for you.”

“I’m sure you will, Midvale,” said Lois, “Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“XYZ.”

Kara looked back in confusion for a moment before she recalled what that meant. She looked down and saw that the zipper of her slacks was indeed down, revealing the bright yellow undies she was wearing underneath. Blushing, Kara hurriedly zipped up her pants and turned around to rush out the door and get the cleaning supplies.

Kara was in the office kitchen gathering a small mountain of paper towels when a large man in an ugly suit approached her from the side.

“I see you had some bad luck this morning,” said Clark.

“You don’t know the half of it,” grumbled Kara.

“Hey,” assured Clark, putting a hand on Kara’s shoulder, “Lois isn’t as intense as she looks. I promise.”

“You sure about that?”

“Well,” smiled Clark, “at the very least I can say she won’t hold this against you. She’s still adjusting to the promotion, you know.”

Clark Kent, Kara’s cousin and only other survivor of Krypton, was a handsome man. One wouldn’t guess it from his disheveled hair, large glasses, and ill-fitting suit but when he cleaned up he was hard to miss. That being said, he only ever cleaned up when he donned his cape and went out as his alter ego.

“Easy for  _ you  _ to say,” scoffed Kara, “Given that she knows about your… other job, she’d forgive  _ you  _ for anything.”

“Not  _ anything _ ,” smirked Clark, “I can assure you of that.”

Clark and Lois had been dating for some time now. It started on account of Lois’s close relationship with Superman, interviewing him exclusively for Daily Planet articles. Being an investigative journalist, she eventually put two and two together and learned that Superman and Clark were one in the same. Fortunately, she had grown quite fond of both men and chose to not only keep his secret but date him.

“You know,” added Clark, “She’ll figure out about your… other job soon enough too.”

Clark was referring to Kara’s own alter ego, Supergirl. She had only recently made her debut in Metropolis after moving there from the suburb of Midvale. Though Clark had introduced her to Lois as his cousin, Kara had requested they keep her alter ego a secret. Clark respected the decision, though he routinely encouraged Kara to come clean to Lois.

“We’ve been over this,” said Kara, “I’ll tell her when I’m sure I can trust her.”

“Okay,” shrugged Clark with a smile.

“Midvale,” said Lois loudly from the entrance to the kitchen, “Something wrong with the paper towels?”

“No, Ms. Lane!” exclaimed Kara, grabbing the lump of them in front of her, “Coming!”

***

“Outta the way, priss!”

“Hey!” protested Siobhan as the woman shoved her aside.

The woman was accompanied by several of her friends, all dressed in punk clothing and several dragging large containers behind them. Siobhan huffed in indignance as she watched the women enter the building without a second thought about her.

Siobhan couldn’t say she was surprised. This wasn’t exactly her scene. Dressed in a plaid skirt, tights, and modest white blouse, she was quite out of place at this predominantly punk venue. She would normally avoid a place like this, but a musician sometimes had to take whatever gig she could get.

“You lost, miss?” smirked the bouncer.

“As a matter of fact,” said Siobhan, “I’m part of the line up tonight.”

“Right,” scoffed the bouncer.

“I am!” insisted Siobhan, stomping her foot, “Siobhan McDougal! Check the line-up!”

“One second, miss,” chuckled the bouncer, closing the door on her as he turned to go inside.

“What’s going on!?” shouted someone behind Siobhan, “What’s the hold up?”

“Sorry,” offered Siobhan, turning to see the line of patrons waiting behind her, “He just needs to confirm that I-”

“Whatever,” said the man dismissively, muttering to himself, “Dry shites holding up the rest of us.”

“I’ll be,” said the bouncer as he returned to the door, “Siobhan McDougal, you really are in the programme. Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” sighed Siobhan with relief.

Siobhan tightened her grip on her guitar case, lifted it, and walked into the club. The more she saw, the more out of place she felt. The music playing on the speakers was louder and more aggressive than Siobhan would’ve liked and the band setting up on the stage frightened her just to look at. Among them was the woman who had shoved Siobhan earlier.

“Excuse me,” whispered Siobhan to a bartender, “Do you know who I should speak to about setting up for my-?”

A glass bottle shattered as it collided with the bar counter beside Siobhan. Siobhan let out a squeal of surprise and fear before turning and seeing a group of women sitting across the way chuckling. That’s when Siobhan noticed that the woman from before was looking at her too.

“Who let this fecker in?” she laughed.

“Um…” uttered Siobhan.

“What’s the matter, little girl?” asked one of the women who had thrown the bottle, “Can’t take a joke? Maybe this isn’t the scene for you.”

“I… Uh…”

Siobhan cut herself off with another yelp as another glass bottle nearly hit her before shattering against the counter beside her.

“This is a rough and tumble kind of place, lass,” said a man sitting nearby, “Best you be on your way if you can’t handle it.”

“I can handle it!” insisted Siobhan.

“Really?”

“Hey!”

The woman who had thrown the bottle and pulled the guitar case from Siobhan’s hands and was looking it over. Siobhan moved toward her, but her friends grabbed Siobhan at the shoulders and held her in place. She could only watch as the woman opened the case and looked at the guitar.

“Now this looks like it’ll fetch a pretty penny,” mused the woman, “and I’m sure Mummy and Daddy will get you a new one anyway.”

“It’s not like that!” protested Siobhan, “Give it back! It’s mine!”

“I think you best be getting a move on,” suggested the man, “Cut your losses and live to see another day.”

“But-”

The woman slammed the guitar case shut and got to her feet. Siobhan bit her lip in fear as the two other women continued to hold her in place. The woman with her guitar leaned in close.

“Thanks for the guitar,” she whispered.

Siobhan did the only thing she could think to do. She reared her head back and slammed her skull into the woman’s nose. The woman let out a cry as she stumbled back, blood leaking from her nose. The women holding Siobhan loosened their grip at the sight, giving Siobhan a chance to rip her hands free, grab her guitar, and run. As she did, she heard the smashing of more glass and yelling as the club broke out into a full on brawl.

Siobhan made it out of the club and the bottom of the hill it was built on. Gripping her guitar in one hand and clutching her pounding chest with the other, she did her best to catch her breath and gather herself.

“There she is!” shouted one of the women from before.

“Let’s teach her a lesson!” shouted another.

Siobhan ran. She didn’t pause to think, look back, or take in her surroundings. She had to run. She had to escape. It was the only way to survive. The women followed in hot pursuit. The chase led up another hill and then down it on the other side. As the hill grew steeper, Siobhan lost her footing. She stumbled and fell, rolling down the increasing steep slope before slamming hard into a rock and falling down a small chasm beside it.

Siobhan cried out in pain as she landed on her back on the stone floor of a cave. The horrendous sound of her guitar smashing on the ground right next to her snapped her back to reality. Siobhan gasped and crawled over to her instrument. As she fumbled with the remaining pieces, she noticed the skin on her arms had turned a ghostly white. Looking at the rest of her body, she saw that it had affected all of her skin.

“Am I…?” she wondered, “...dead?”

She had taken quite a fall. Maybe she had snapped her neck on impact. If so, was this her afterlife? Living on as a pale version of her past self?

“You are not dead,” echoed a voice throughout the cave.

“Who said that!?” demanded Siobhan, “Where am I!? What happened to me!?”

“You’ve been cursed, dear.”

“Cursed!?”

“Indeed.”

Siobhan gasped as the pale figure of a cloaked old woman emerged from the shadows. She carried an eerily glowing lantern and seemed to glide along the floor of the cave without walking. Her cloak obscured her eyes, but Siobhan could make out her long and crooked nose.

“What kind of curse!?” demanded Siobhan, only to have her question answered as her voice boomed throughout the cave in a loud and unnerving shriek. Siobhan covered her own ears at the sound of it, only to find it didn’t cause her any harm.

“If you wish for the curse to be lifted,” said the old woman, “There is a way.”

“What?” asked Siobhan desperately, “What is it?”

“There’s an ancient tome I’d like you to retrieve for me,” said the woman, “You’ll find it across the sea, in the Metropolis Museum of Art.”

***

“That was quite impressive, Supergirl,” said the reporter.

“Thank you,” nodded Supergirl, “All in a day’s work.”

Supergirl stood in her newly crafted costume: a long sleeved blue leotard with the famous yellow and red ‘S’ insignia on her chest. She wore a mid length red skirt over the leotard as well as a pair of dark tights and knee-high boots. The look was completed by the red cape flapping in the wind behind her.

Behind Supergirl the authorities were apprehending several heavily armed mercenaries and escorting them away from their stolen armored truck. The engine at the front of the truck was emitting black smoke, having been damaged by Supergirl when she stopped the high speed vehicle.

“Tell us,” continued the reporter, “Did Superman train you to stop vehicles like that?”

“What?” asked Supergirl, trying to hide her indignance, “No, I taught myself.”

“Interesting,” said the reporter, “Do you think you can fly as fast as him?”

“I… Um,” stuttered Supergirl, “Yes.”

“What can you tell us about your relationship?” asked the reporter, “Are you siblings? Lovers?”

“What!?” exclaimed Supergirl, “Gross, no. He’s my cousin.”

“How long have you two-?”

“I have to go,” said Supergirl plainly, rocketing up into the sky.

“You see?” said Kara, pausing the TV, “All they care about is Superman! I’ll never be able to stand on my own.”

“Yeah,” said Dolly, “Sucks.”

Kara and Dolly sat in the main living area of their apartment, both sitting lazily on their couch. Dolly was a heavyset woman in her 20s, always wearing combat boots and a large pair of glasses. The two had been roommates since Kara moved to Metropolis.

“There’s got to be something I can do about,” sighed Kara.

“Doubtful,” said Dolly.

“Thanks,” scoffed Kara.

“I’m just saying,” shrugged Dolly, “He’s Superman. No matter what you do, people will never think you’re as cool as him.”

“You know most people would be a little nicer to their superpowered roommate,” said Kara, “I heat vision your butt so bad you won’t sit for a week.”

“Eh,” dismissed Dolly, seemingly unconcerned.

“I also grew up with a sister,” added Kara, “You have no idea the wedgies I can give. I could leave you hanging from the eyesore on top of S.T.A.R. Labs.”

Kara was referring to the enormous five-point star structure that stood atop the S.T.A.R. Labs building. It was widely regarded as the ugliest part of the Metropolis skyline.

“Yeah,” said Dolly, getting up, “but you won’t. You’re too much of a goodie two-shoes.”

“Hey!” protested Kara.

“Well you are.”

Kara rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the TV. She clicked out of the recording of her interview and changed to the live news.

“Holy crap!” cried Kara, “Dolly, look!”

Dolly turned back and looked at the TV. It was a live newsfeed being broadcast from outside the Metropolis Museum of Art. A woman wearing what appeared to be a black and white unitard with white gloves and boots was casually approaching a small blockade of police cars. Her short white hair matched the color of her costume.

“Freeze!” ordered an officer.

The woman took a deep breath and opened her mouth in the direction of the cars. Kara and Dolly both winced as a deafening feedback noise screeched out of their television speakers. The feed then went silent as the cars and officers were blown away by an invisible force. The woman continued her stroll into the museum.

“This looks like a job for…” announced Supergirl, tearing open her button down shirt to reveal her costume underneath, “Supergirl!”

“Do you wear that thing, like, all the time?” asked Dolly.

“Just the leotard,” said Kara as she sped into her bedroom, “Sometimes the tights.”

“You’re a dork!” called out Dolly as a blue blur shot out of Kara’s bedroom and out their window.

***

Silver Banshee strutted her way into the museum, where alarms were blaring from all directions. She didn’t know what part of the museum the tome was in, so this would take some time. She was regretting opening with an attack on the authorities rather than finding the book first and then breaking out with her powers.

_ Oh well, _ thought Silver Banshee,  _ Too late to change it now. _

Still, she had taken care of the building’s entire security force. A quick check of the museum’s directory led her directly to the tome in question: an ancient Gaelic book of legends and magic. Generally regarded as fictional in nature, it was preserved at the Metropolis Museum of Art for it’s ornate leather binding and age dating back farther than almost any other known work of Gaelic writing.

“Stop right there!” came a voice from behind.

Silver Banshee turned around, seeing none other than Supergirl standing behind her, hands on her hips and looking as intense as the soft-faced woman could muster.

“Supergirl,” mused Silver Banshee quietly.

“I don’t know what you’re after,” said Supergirl, “but whatever it is, attacking those guards was no way to do it.”

“You have no idea why I’m doing what I’m doing,” whispered Silver Banshee back, “I need this book.”

“Let’s talk about this,” said Supergirl calmly, “What’s your name?”

“I used to be Siobhan McDougal,” said Silver Banshee under her breath, “but now… Now I’m cursed… Now I’m the Silver Banshee!”

As Silver Banshee shouted the end of her sentence, powerful soundwaves assaulted Supergirl head on. The Kryptonian covered her ears in pain as her enhanced hearing caused the noise to wreak havoc on her eardrums. The sheer force of the vibrations blew her back and through the wall behind her, landing her on the streets of Metropolis.

Supergirl slowly got to her feet, grimacing as her head still throbbed in pain. Gasps and muemering of the civilians around her quickly got her attention. She then saw that she was being watched by several news crews as well.

_ Well, _ she thought,  _ At the very least, it’s a chance to prove myself as a hero. _

“Had enough, blondie?” taunted Silver Banshee, emerging from the hole in the wall with the book tucked under her arm.

_ So she has some sort of sound based powers… _ thought Supergirl,  _ Maybe if I cover my ears… _

Silver Banshee unleashed another shriek as Supergirl tried in vain to block it out with her hands. This time the scream was not nearly as loud or powerful as the last one, but the pitch was unbelievably high. So much so that most humans wouldn’t be able to hear it, but Supergirl’s enhanced ears could. That only made the pitch more painful as her hair stood on end and her skin crawled from the sensation. The civilians around them, unable to hear the sound, looked at Supergirl in confusion as she collapsed on the ground again.

Supergirl fought past the pain and got to her feet. Her enhanced abilities were working against her now. She had to find a way to end this quickly. She looked up at Silver Banshee as she released another wail. Supergirl stumbled to the side. This scream was neither loud nor high pitched, but something was wrong. Supergirl couldn’t stand up straight. Her stomach was churning and her vision was spinning.

“Balance is controlled by the inner ear,” explained Silver Banshee, “Damage the right part of your ear, and you might as well be off your tits.”

Supergirl fell to one knee, grasping the ground to keep from falling over completely. She took a deep breath to try to steady herself. Silver Banshee chuckled to herself and approached Supergirl. Supergirl took a swing at the woman as she neared, but completely missed and fell to the side, landing face first on the ground.

“You know what it is about you that really pisses me off?” asked Silver Banshee as she stepped over Supergirl’s body, “It’s that you remind me of how weak and timid  _ I _ used to be. Cute skirt.”

Silver Banshee punctuated her sentence by using her foot to kick up the back of Supergirl’s skirt, flipping it up onto Supergirl’s back and exposing her butt. Silver Banshee laughed as she saw the heroine’s butt still covered with the bottom of a leotard worn over her tights.

“A skirt, tights,  _ and _ a leotard, love?” she cackled, “Who is it exactly that you’re expecting to want to be down there anyway?”

Supergirl wearily tried to get up to her knees, but felt Silver Banshee grab the bottom of her leotard and yank upward. Supergirl bit her lip in pain as the nearly indestructible fabric crammed up into her butt, taking her tights and underwear with it.

“Nice knickers,” smirked Silver Banshee, having wedged the leotard far enough in that the yellow high-waisted briefs were clearly visible beneath it.

“Holy crap!” cried an onlooker, “That lady just gave Supergirl a wedgie!”

Supergirl bit her lip as her face went red. She wanted this to be the fight where she proved herself as a hero. Instead she was being upskirted and wedgied in front of countless witnesses and a handful of news crews. She had had enough of this.

“That’s it!” cried Supergirl angrily, finally regaining her balance.

The woman of steel bolted at Silver Banshee with incredible speed and power. She slammed into the thief and plowed through the wall and ceiling of the museum before flying up to the skyline, carrying Silver Banshee with her. The flight continued until Supergirl slammed Silver Banshee into the enormous globe atop The Daily Planet. She released her grip and let Silver Banshee fall limply to the ground.

Supergirl sighed with relief. At least that was over. She took the opportunity to dislodge her leotard from her butt. Unfortunately there were still two more layers of clothing stuffed up there as well, so Supergirl continued adjusting under her skirt to get her tights and underwear out of her butt too.

Supergirl was so preoccupied that she barely heard the crumbling sound behind her. She spun around when the sound got louder and gasped as she saw the globe tip over the side of the building and plummet to the ground.

“No!”

Supergirl raced after the massive falling model of Earth as it rapidly approached the streets below. Supergirl realized in horror that she was too late to get under the globe before it hit the ground. 

Supergirl nearly slammed into the globe as it’s fall halted suddenly. Flying back, Supergirl saw none other than Superman beneath the globe holding it over his head. She bit her lip and looked away when she saw the look of angry disappointment on her cousin’s face.

The two of them slowly descended to the ground, where Superman gently placed the globe on the street before turning to Supergirl, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

“Sorry,” offered Supergirl meekly, “I didn’t realize it was falling until-”

“Until it was too late,” interrupted Superman, “Someone could have been killed.”

“There was no one here,” pointed out Supergirl, noting that the entire street was devoid of pedestrians.

“Something tells me you didn’t know that when you slammed into the Planet.”

Supergirl blushed and looked away. She was hoping Superman hadn’t seen that part. She was  _ really _ hoping he didn’t see that the reason she missed the globe falling was because she was picking the wedgie Silver Banshee had given her.

“Silver Banshee!” recalled Supergirl, launching herself back up into the sky.

Supergirl approached the roof of the Planet, finding no sign of Silver Banshee except for a single sheet of paper lying on the roof. She descended upon it and looked at it. The writing was in ancient Gaelic. It must have been a page from that book Silver Banshee stole.

“She got away,” noted Superman, arriving at the roof as well.

“Yeah,” admitted Supergirl dejectedly, “Sorry.”

She looked over at Superman. He didn’t look back. He merely grimaced in frustration before flying off without another word. Supergirl sadly watched her cousin fly away, knowing he was surely disappointed in her.

***

“Wow,” muttered Dolly, “That sucks.”

“Thanks,” scoffed Kara.

“You must feel like shit.”

“Thank you, Dolly!”

“I’m just saying.”

Kara and Dolly were sitting on their couch watching the news on mute as they played clips from Supergirl’s fight with Silver Banshee, down to her knocking the Daily Planet’s planet off the roof.

“You think you’ll ever put the cape on again?”

“What?” asked Kara indignantly, “Of course I will!”

“You really are brave.”

“Shut up,” sighed Kara, throwing a pillow at Dolly.

Then Kara noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The news was cutting away from the footage of her to broadcast breaking news: a police station was under attack. The TV flickered to live footage of the station in question, where Silver Banshee was blowing out the windows with a loud screech that caused the TV to crackle in feedback again.

“It’s her!” gasped Kara.

“No duh,” said Dolly, “What is she doing?”

“I don’t know,” said Kara, watching the TV intensely.

Kara didn’t know what to do. She could be on site in a matter of seconds, so wasn’t it her responsibility to go there and help everyone? Then again, last time she had only managed to screw things up. Maybe Dolly was right. Maybe Kara should have given up the cape and left the work to Superman.

“This just in,” said a reporter, “One of our journalists is saying that Silver Banshee is emerging from the station… with some sort of book?”

_ That one she was trying to steal from the museum, _ realized Kara, remembering that she had a page of it herself,  _ The police must have taken it in as evidence. _

“Superman has arrived on the scene!” announced the reporter, “We’ll continue to update you to the best of our ability as the situation develops.”

The program cut to live footage of Superman facing off against Silver Banshee. Superman moved to go after her, but the TV speakers screeched again as Silver Banshee used her powers on the Man of Steel. Kara gasped as her cousin fell to his knees in pain before collapsing as Silver Banshee raced off.

“Kal-El!” called out Kara instinctively.

“Rest assured everyone,” said the reporter, “We are getting reports that Superman is alive, just weakened.”

Sure enough, Superman rose to his feet and flew off.

“Can anyone stop this sonic menace?” questioned the reporter.

**Click!**

“Hey!” protested Dolly, “I was watching that too you know.”

“I have a page of that book,” explained Kara, “She’s going to come after it next, I’m sure of it. The only question is how I’m supposed to stop her…”

“Yeah,” said Dolly, “You and your cousin can break the sound barrier. You’d think you could handle-”

“That’s it!” declared Kara.

“What?”

“You’re right,” said Kara, “I can break the sound barrier because I can fly faster than the speed of sound. Faster than her voice! If I move at supersonic speeds, I can dodge her attacks!”

“Maybe,” said Dolly, “Where are you going?”

“From what I can tell, she can sense the book,” explained Kara as she speedily changed into her Supergirl uniform, “I’m taking my page somewhere no one will get hurt. When she comes for me, I’ll be ready.”

Supergirl rocketed out the window and disappeared over the horizon in a matter of seconds.

“Be careful,” added Dolly, even though Supergirl was well beyond earshot.

***

Supergirl looked down one length of the highway and then the other. This part of town had been evacuated and shut down following Silver Banshee’s attack. Here Supergirl might not be able to prove herself in front of a news crew, but no one would get hurt either. This was it. Stopping Silver Banshee was her responsibility.

“You Americans have a wicked sense of humor,” came a familiar voice, “or at least a very funny idea of what it means to be a  _ super _ hero. You lot are a load of rubbish.”

The voice seemed to echo from all directions. Supergirl listened closely, following the paths of the sound waves bouncing off of the buildings and structures around them. By the time Supergirl had concluded the source of the noise, Silver Banshee was no longer there. Instead, she had snuck up behind Supergirl in the time it took her to listen to the echo.

Silver Banshee opened her mouth to let out a scream. Time seemed to stop. Supergirl’s perception showed her Silver Banshee opening her mouth in slow motion. Supergirl bolted in the opposite direction, outrunning the sound before shooting up into the sky. She swooped back down directly at Silver Banshee from behind, slamming into the ghostly woman.

“What do you want with this book?” demanded Supergirl, pinning Silver Banshee to the ground.

“To lift my curse,” grunted Silver Banshee.

“A curse?” responded Supergirl, “We can do something about that. We could take you to see Dr. Fate or-”

“No, lass,” chuckled Silver Banshee, “You don’t get it. The old me might have taken you up on that offer. She might have played it safe and followed orders. But I’m done being that good little girl. I’m bad now and I like it!”

Supergirl ended Silver Banshee’s speech with a punch to the head. She had used just enough force to knock Silver Banshee out without causing too much damage. She tossed the Irishwoman over her shoulder and flew off.

***

Kara smiled as she looked down at the front page of the Daily Planet. It read “Supergirl Hangs Irish Criminal Up to Dry” and was accompanied by a photo of a very grumpy Silver Banshee dangling off the top of the five point star atop S.T.A.R. Labs by the back of her unitard with a copious amount of duct tape over her mouth.

Kara chortled smugly. Once Supergirl had knocked Silver Banshee out, she flew her to the roof of S.T.A.R. labs and hooked her unitard and underpants to the there as revenge for Silver Banshee’s little pranks the day before. She hung there for a little under an hour before the police arrived and apprehended her.

“Oof!” yelped Kara, face so buried in her paper that she walked right into a man, “Sorry!”

“It’s quite alright,” assured Clark.

Kara looked up in surprise at her cousin, who was smiling down at her. She took a step back and looked away uncomfortably. The two hadn’t spoken since Superman gave Supergirl the lecture the day before. Now the two stood in the middle of the Daily Planet’s office space.

“I’m… Sorry if I was harsh the other day,” said Clark quietly, “Clearly you know what you’re doing. Heck, you might even know better than me seeing as you were the one who saved the day.”

“No,” dismissed Kara bashfully, “You were right. I was careless. I learned my lesson though.”

“I see,” chuckled Clark, “Well I won’t take up too much for your time. We can talk about more later if you like. The long and short of it is: I’m proud of you, Kara.”

“Thanks,” smiled Kara back.

“Midvale!” shouted Lois from her office, “Midvale I need to see you.”

“Better not keep her waiting,” advised Clark teasingly as he walked past Kara.

Kara swallowed nervously and began her walk to Lois’s office. She had no idea why Lois wanted to see her so urgently. It was rarely a good sign when she demanded her presence from across the office.

Kara entered Lois’s office and closed the door behind her. The very moment the door closed Lois spoke.

“So you’re Supergirl,” she said plainly.

“What!?!” cried Kara, “I don’t- That’s-... No!”

“Come on,” said Lois, rolling her eyes, “I’m dating your cousin, for Christ’s sake. It’s not hard to figure out from there.”

“Uh…” murmured Kara.

“I have to say,” continued Lois, standing and approaching the window, “You’re quite the actress. This whole dorky klutz persona you put on is a great cover.”

Kara didn’t put on any kind of persona.

“I… Um…”

“Oh continue to deny it if you wish,” said Lois, “It doesn’t matter to me, truth be told. I certainly won’t tell anyone.”

“...was there anything else, Ms. Lane?” asked Kara, unsure of what else to say.

“Yes,” said Lois, “Get me a latte from the coffee place across the street. And make it snappy.”

Kara nodded and turned around to do just that. Lois smiled to herself. There was something incredibly empowering about ordering Supergirl to get her coffee.

“Told ya,” smiled Clark as Kara passed her, having surmised their conversation.

Kara smiled weakly back. There was something humbling about having one’s secret identity deduced so bluntly. Just this morning Kara was still riding the high of her victory over Silver Banshee. Now she had been outsmarted by her boss. Kara was back to being Lois Lane’s errand girl.

_ Oh well, _ thought Kara, half smiling,  _ I guess being Supergirl doesn’t cover up the fact that I’m still just Kara Danvers. _

**Author's Note:**

> It's like CW's Supergirl, only without the centrist, masturbatory politics


End file.
